Day 9 of Having a "Mary" Christmas in a Martha World
James 1:17, John 3:16, 1 John 5:14-15, 1 Peter 4:10-11
Who has problems? We all have problems. Some more than others but none the less, we are all human and flawed and broken. Christ came to redeem that brokenness.
“Christ came that we might have life and have it more abundantly.”
- John 1O:1O.
But we are all still sinners. We have different beautiful things available for us to help us with our sinfulness so that we can life life to its fullest. We have Mother Church, confession, mass, fellowship, the Bible, an opportunity every day to choose good.
Every day is a gift that we have been given. We need to remember that. Yes, in the midst of running errands, working, pumping gas, scratching a lotto ticket, these breaths we take are a gift.
“For by grace you have been saved, and it is not from you but its a gifts from God” - Ephesians 2:8.
I believe we also live with expectation. Expecting things to get better, expecting our lives to remain the same, expecting that what when we give, we will receive something just as good back if not something better. Yes, we should have expectant faith. We should trust and know that God wants the best for us and not only that but is helping us to live each day so that we can become the best versions of ourselves.
This expectant faith is different from expectations we sometimes can have because expectant faith is on God’s terms, not ours. It doesn't mean we wont be uncomfortable or unhurt, but it does mean that with trust, whatever our situation is, will lead us to salvation if we choose to continuously follow Christ. It’s carrying our cross that will lead us to salvation, not the hope that the cross will get smaller, but that hope that we will be able to embrace it. We also have the hope that Christ already conquered the cross and death. I don’t mean to talk about the cross in the midst of this advent season but in a way, the cross, our crosses can also be seen as gift.
Even if we don't get the gifts we expect for Christmas we can expect that if we embrace the gifts we have been given from God, they will lead us to a life of holiness and of Salvation. Also, gifts aren't for us to hoard for ourselves, be that a person or a thing, they are meant to be freely given, to glorify God, because they came from God, and ultimately belong to him.
Take some time to write down the gifts you already have and the gifts you want, and offer them both to Christ because he is our loving Father and will give us what we want because he does want us to be happy. If we don't receive those gifts, we must trust and have faith that, this path, without those things/people, is what will lead us to Him, our ultimate goal.
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